Motherwell delivered another entertaining win and another clean sheet as Livingston became their latest victim.
The 2-0 result at Almondvale hardly reflected the dominance that Motherwell had of the game. The first half was a masterclass of carefree attacking football that produced two fine goals for Tawanda Maswanhise. There could have been several more.
There was only one change from eleven that scored four against Kilmarnock last week as Johnny Koutroumbis started ahead of Emmanuel Longelo.
In front of a big travelling support Motherwell kicked off in their blue second strip but they had to thank Calum Ward for denying the hosts an early opener as they failed to control a high bouncing ball. Conor McLennan had the ball at his feet with time to place his shot but the ‘keeper deflected his effort for a corner.
The lesson was learned and Motherwell took charge as they laid siege to the Livi goal. With five minutes on the clock Eli Just crossed high and Maswanhise floated a header over Jerome Prior to ease any concern for the visitors.
Chances followed as Motherwell relaxed and rolled passes around the last third. Callum Slattery had a powerful shot on target and Just knocked one off the post.
The second goal arrived before the half hour. Slattery collected a loose ball and sent it to Maswanhise on the left of the area. A lovely curling shot followed and the comfortable margin was assured.
The Zimbabwean teased the home defence and should have celebrated a hat-trick before the break. Motherwell were cheered into the tunnel having produced a terrific spell of top class football.
The the second half came up short when compared to the first period and the home side provided some spirited resistance. Manager Askou gave more game time to Eythor Bjorgolfsson and there was a welcome return to action for Sam Nicholson after a year of recovery.
The team got a richly deserved standing ovation as the final whistle blew. Motherwell fans are being treated to game after game of festival football.
There will be nervous couple of days ahead before the transfer window closes. Let’s hope no one makes an offer we can ‘t refuse.
Livingston 0 Motherwell 2
Attendance 2,785
Team: Ward, Sparrow, O’Donnell, McGinn, Koutroumbis (Gordon 85), Priestman, Said (Bjorgolfsson 65), Fadinger, Just (Nicholson 65), Slattery, Maswanhise (Longelo 77)
Saturday 31 January 2026
